Sacraments of Healing

Since our readings this weekend reveal the healing power of Christ, we will look at the healing power of the Liturgy. When we reflect on all aspects of the Liturgy this is one that tends to be overlooked. I think this is mostly because the two Sacraments of Healing (Confession and Anointing of the Sick) are what mostly come to mind.
In general all of the sacraments of the Church heal us of the damage due to sin. Baptism heals us of Original Sin. Marriage heals us of the rift between the sexes, and restores the harmony that existed between husband and wife in the Garden before the Fall. The Mass and the Eucharist, among other things, heals us communally. We gather as the people of God, as the Mystical Body of Christ, as the Church, in order to worship God, becoming united with God and united with one another. This is one way the Mass and the Eucharist heals us.
The Mass heals us communally. It also heals us individually as well. Isaiah, from the First Reading, talks about the blind, deaf, lame, and mute being healed. Psalm 146 mentions the same healing power of God. And in the Gospel we see Jesus heal a deaf man with a speech impediment. Individual people were healed of different things that they were suffering from.
A spiritual interpretation of this, in the context of the Mass, is that the spiritual infirmities that we suffer from can be healed. All of the healing miracles that Jesus performed ultimately point to how Jesus comes to us to be spiritually healed. Yes we tend to focus on the physical things that we are suffering from. I myself am suffering from some back issues. But as serious as these bodily things can, spiritual infirmities are far worse. For instance, a serious infection can kill the body, but a serious sin kills the life of the soul. Bodily ailments are temporary, but spiritual ones can become eternal.
The Mass and receiving the Eucharist in holy communion can heal us of these spiritual ailments we might be suffering from. Did you know that our venial sins are forgiven in the beginning of every Mass? This happens when we say during the Penitential Act when we call to mind our sins, and the priest says the particular prayer, called the Absolution, before the Gloria begins: “May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.”
Even as Mass is beginning we are being healed of our spiritual blindness, deafness, or whatever other thing we can contract due to sin. It is the Supper of the Lamb that we celebrate on earth, which we call the Mass, that gathers together all peoples to experience the healing power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.